At 9 weeks pregnant, I finally had a meeting with a prenatal personal trainer. The purpose of this meeting was to clarify what is considered safe and healthy amount and type of exercise during pregnancy.
As I’ve mentioned, I felt quite ill and tired during my second month of pregnancy but I’m hoping to feel better soon and to be able to increase my physical activity again.
I find setting (fitness) goals very important to stay motivated. But in all honesty, it’s harder now because the more traditional goals of increasing strength/speed or losing body fat/gaining muscle are not appropriate right now. I find training without a goal a bit boring and so setting goals was the first thing we tackled with the personal trainer I met.
For those who are interested, I met with one of Jelly Belly’s pre- and postnatal specialised personal trainers (mum of two) who came to meet me at home. I specifically wanted a woman who has children, as personally I’d feel more comfortable with her ability to relate to my situation than e.g. a male PT’s.
I would summarise the main goals as follows:
- Avoid excess weight gain during pregnancy
- Prepare the body for
- carrying more weight at later stage of pregnancy (maintaining good posture, strong supporting muscles)
- labour (comparative to a marathon they say!)
- living with a baby (which means carrying and lifting quite a bit!)
- Maintaining current fitness level as much as possible to help recovery from pregnancy and labour
True, they may not be as easily measurable as my previous goals but it’s time to change my mindset 🙂 And of course we should not forget the positive impact of exercise on our mood!
Setting goals was followed by some general advice to keep in mind when exercising during pregnancy:
- Only exercise in a well ventilated area
- Effort level 7 – puffed but still able to carry on a conversation
- Be aware of staying hydrated and avoid overheating
- Any pain or discomfort on any movements adjust accordingly
- Signs to stop immediately – severe dizziness, lightheadedness, bleeding pain, severe pain or anything feels wrong and seek medical attention
- Breathing – inhale to expand ribs and exhale
- Pelvic floor activation – Draw front and back passages together and lift
- NEVER PULL BELLY BUTTON TO SPINE
- Avoid planks, explosive movements, anything that will throw you off balance and very heavy weight lifting.
- Avoid lying on your back without the upper back being elevated
Generally exercise is highly encouraged, assuming that you’ve been cleared for exercise by your OB-GYN/midwife. The recommendation by this PT was daily cardio, either walking (30-45min) or swimming (15-20min), complemented by resistance training at least 2-3 times a week.
I feel quite encouraged now and am definitely going to get a gym membership again, somewhere with a pool!
Unfortunately I’ve had a cold for about 10 days and now have a chest infection, so it’ll take some time before I can go back. But I’m excited already!
Here’s a snap of our pretty and green courtyard where I’ve been doing my exercises 🙂
xoxoxo,
Sini